Edna’s House

Documenting the construction of Edna’s House in Marapara Heights Subdivision, Bacolod City, Philippines

Construction began April 26, 2021

May 2021

Foundation of the house being laid down, setting columns and preparing materials and work areas.

June 2021

July 2021

August 2021

Personal Reflections:

This project has been a dream of my mom’s, passed onto me at a young age. I lived in this subdivision in Auntie Duds’ house from 2000-2001 and always loved it here. In the months leading up to this project, I had high hopes and visions that would make the most efficient use of this beautiful space in this luscious area in the outskirts of the city. Darcey and I had designed our own blueprint of the house to best suit the needs of my mom and dad, and the family.

Unfortunately, none of our ideas were taken into consideration, except for the balcony, which we had proposed to be much lengthier, spanning the side of the front and back of the house. We even had the balcony extended outward as a flat platform on the top of the garage, to serve as a seating/sunbathing area, instead of the costly roof which serves no other purpose and obstructs the view of the front gate and park across the street.

The rounded stairs take up the majority of the walking space and view when you walk through the front door. Its rounded design is dangerous without a proper landing, and creates an awkward space in the upstairs bedroom above. The upstairs had poor design and planning, opposite of what we would have created as a living space for family members above.

The back area does not make efficient use of the lot, which should have served as a backyard, pool and open-grilling area. Sara suggests converting the small rooms and entire helpers’ quarters into a gym and workout space. Overall, there is no built-in closet space for any of the bedrooms except the master bedroom, and the bathrooms are significantly smaller than the standard American size.

Finally, there’s no way to walk around the entire house, adding to a concerning lack of security and safety, absolutely necessary in this neighborhood. Uncle Edmun drafted the design that was submitted to the architect, and Aunt JV approved the blueprint with the city and subdivision, without any of my personal review or input. Her exact words to me were, “This is not your house. This is only a vacation home.”